Juxtaposition
by binaryeclipse
Summary: Edward/Bella. Edward POV. Reality turns on its ear and you have no choice but to forget everything you think you know about Twilight. Is it AU? I guess you'll just have to read to find out.
1. Chapter 1: Through the Looking Glass

PART ONE: Through the Looking Glass_  
__  
Caught in a Web__  
Removed from the world__  
Hanging on by a thread__  
Spinning the lies__  
devised in my head_

--Caught in a Web  
by Dream Theater

"BELLA!" It all happened so fast, there was no time to react. Red eyes savage, the vampire lunged for her. It required no thought at all, Edward simply moved, slamming his shoulder into her attacker's side. The impact of stone-hardened body against the brick wall behind them sounded like a gunshot in the narrow alley.

"Edward, watch out!" The warning was unnecessary, he had already gathered himself, sinking back in a crouch as the murderous stranger turned to face him. He was male, hardly remarkable and not well dressed. Edward might have thought him for a newborn save for the fact that there was too much calculation in his movements for that to be true. At the same time, his mind was a cacophony of random thoughts. It was all but impossible to sort them out as they flew around wildly, as sharp-edged as daggers. Edward's eyes narrowed, he had to finish this quickly. Emmett was not far behind and gaining rapidly, but he didn't dare make a mistake with Bella so close and vulnerable.

The stranger snarled, and he answered, the sound that rumbled from his chest heavy with menace. Dull red eyes, the mark of a human-hunter, raked over him and then locked suddenly, finally with his own. Neither of them moved, but the impact of that gaze hit Edward like a freight train. Pain, searing and awful, shuddered through him, and he was unable to look away. It was as if every muscle in his body had finally hardened over, rendering him completely in stone.

"Edward, what's wrong?!" _Run Bella_, he longed to shout it with every fiber of his being. He couldn't move, couldn't so much as draw breath to say the words. "Edward!" _God Emmett, hurry_, he begged silently, realizing in one horrified moment that Bella was going to watch him die.

His tormentor made a low, rough sound that might have been laughter and shuffled closer. He heard Bella's scream, and then it was drowned out by the blessed sound of Emmett's powerful, bass roar. Bella would be safe. As the darkness rolled over him, he carried that thought down with him.

* * *

The pavement was cold, that was the first thought that came to mind as I became aware of my surroundings. Cold, and unforgivably hard. I dragged in a deep breath of chill air and it caught in my chest, making me cough. Rolling onto my side, I tried to remember where I was and why, but the answer didn't immediately present itself. I blinked, trying to clear my vision in the strange half-light of the alley where I lay, but the world got no brighter, and something about that struck me as odd.

I dragged my hands into position to push myself upright and swore softly as pain unexpectedly bloomed on the back of my knuckle. Startled, I sat up, turning over the offending hand. With disbelieving eyes, I observed that I'd torn the knuckle open on a bit of glass. Blood welled from the wound, and as I watched, it pooled and ran, dripping to the pavement in fat, crimson droplets. I stared, mesmerized, completely disconnected from the sensation of pain, of wetness.

The blood could have been paint and I would have been none the wiser... and it was then I realized that the scent was gone. Blood flowed from a gash on my soft, human hand, and I could smell nothing but the dank surroundings of the alley. Trembling, I slowly pulled the uninjured hand to my chest, and a low sound issued from my lips as my fingertips registered the alien pulse of my heart, racing with an emotion I couldn't name.

Why was I human? Why was I here? Why-- My eyes widened, my head snapped up. Bella... Dear God, where was Bella? I nearly choked on shame when I realized how long it had taken to register her absence. Shoving aside the mystery of my condition as temporarily unimportant, I staggered to my feet, looking desperately for something familiar that might give away my location.

The last thing I remembered was... fighting. A vampire had attacked Bella, I thought I'd had him, but-- Something went wrong. I remembered being frozen in place, held there by his eyes. Helpless to watch as he closed in. Fear choked me at the thought, and it wasn't for myself I had feared, but for her. Still... Emmett had come, I was sure of it. I fought to remember more, searching for some reassurance that she had my brother to protect her. There was nothing, all that lay beyond that tantalizing hint of Emmett's presence was darkness. There was no choice but to cling to my fleeting hope. I had to believe that he had her, that Bella was safe.

Trying to steady myself, I began to walk toward where the light grew brighter, coming gradually to the mouth of the alley where it opened onto a deserted street. The buildings to either side were commercial, warehouses and shuttered shops. Some were abandoned, others in a sad state of disrepair. I randomly chose a direction and began walking down the sidewalk, shivering as a cold wind blew through my clothes. It was strangely quiet here, not even the disjointed thoughts of a restless mind to disturb my solitude. It made me wonder if I was now as alone in my thoughts as I was in body.

The answer to that question came swiftly, and I think perhaps it was that alone that saved my life. I heard his hunger, heard him following my blood trail like bread crumbs. I walked a little faster, looking for shelter, skirting the pool of light from a street lamp. He continued to follow, swift and silent, his thoughts coming clearer as the distance closed. '_This is too easy_,' came the smug thought, not my own. '_All seasoned up and soft_.'

The barest hint of a sound behind me was the only other warning I had. Heart pounding, I broke into a run. I knew the effort was futile, knew it better than any human had a right to. But something inside me refused to give up that easily, not until I knew the truth about Bella's fate. I heard the angry snarl of a predator in pursuit, and I knew that in a matter of heartbeats it would be over.

The impact never came. Instead I heard an answering snarl, higher in pitch but furious in intensity. Skidding to a halt, I whirled, praying it wouldn't be the last thing I'd ever do. Not ten feet from where I stood, they were locked together, struggling. The one whose voice I had heard in my head nearly dwarfed the smaller female, the light from the street lamp above them making their pale skin glow. He tried to overpower her, but she was quick, so light on her feet she might have been dancing. The male broke away, lunged... never realizing his fatal mistake until she flashed past him.

The pool of light illuminated his look of shock as his head gently drifted free from his neck. It made a dull thud as it hit the pavement, the bulk of his body a bit slower to join it. The female stood over it, contemplating what it would take to finish him off. At least, I could only assume she was. Her thoughts were a mystery as she ran a slim hand through a long mane of hair the color of polished mahogany.

I knew that gesture, that shape. It was carved into the very fiber of my being. I waited, wanting her to turn, but not quite willing to accept the impossible. She took away the chance for denial, turning towards me. Her face was hauntingly beautiful, achingly familiar. And as she looked at me with her shining golden eyes, I felt my heart stop.

"Bella..."


	2. Chapter 2: A Vicious Irony

PART TWO: A Vicious Irony

Eyes narrowed, she moved towards me. Slowly, as though she were trying not to frighten me with her speed. When no more than a yard separated us, she stopped, her eyes searching my face. "Why did you call me that?" Her voice, Bella's voice, was soft, her tone wary. It was a question for a stranger, someone who had surprised her by crossing a line she had not expected. The realization hit me like a physical blow, and it was all I could do not to stagger.

"I thought I knew you." My voice was remarkably even. It was admirable, really.

She paused, giving me that searching look again. "I think I would remember your face."

My eyes slid closed, and I swallowed hard. "I see."

"You're disappointed?" Again, she was surprised. "Why?" She took a step closer, and I listened, listened as hard as I knew how... but still her thoughts were silent. Her mind, her face, her voice... they all belonged to someone I knew as well as I knew myself. Why indeed?

"A man is always disappointed when a beautiful lady doesn't remember him." I looked down at her again, gave her my most dazzling smile. She went very still, in that preternatural way that vampires have, and then abruptly looked away.

"Do you always attempt to flirt with women after watching them kill someone?" She sounded...slightly unnerved.

"Was I flirting?" I had the oddest feeling that, were it possible, she might have blushed. But the moment passed almost before it had begun.

"You know what I am." It was not a question. "What he was." She did not look back at the still-twitching remains of the other vampire.

"Yes."

"You know, and yet there you stand." She raised her eyebrows, obviously waiting for an explanation.

"Would it do me any good to run? You'd be on me practically before I'd taken the first step." It was surreal, this knowledge, and with it all the memories of a century spent as less than human. My confidence was absolute, and it all but dared her to contradict my words.

"What sort of human are you that you wouldn't even try?" Now it was her turn to surprise me. Surprise and wound me, because the thought came before I could deny it. Determination to defy logic, it was exactly the sort of thing that... Bella would say.

"A practical one," I made myself reply.

"Or a suicidal one." There was something in the way she said it, a sadness I knew all too well. "Go home," she whispered. "Go to your love ones and pretend this was a bad dream." She had no way of knowing that there was nothing more in the world that I wished for.

"I don't know how." The words reflected the bleakness I felt. Clearly I was lost, and the world had gone insane, there was no other answer. I was human, in an unfamiliar wasteland, with the vampire doppelganger of the woman I loved gazing at me without a shred of recognition. If this was not a nightmare, then insanity seemed the only choice. Perhaps then there might be some chance of recovery.

"You're not leaving me many options." She hesitated, and I wondered if she was trying to decide whether to kill me or not. By the color of her eyes, she didn't feed on human blood and distantly I realized that I was pleased by that. It gave me hope for my Bella's future, should I ever be able to participate in it.

"Do what you need to do. I understand." Oh the vicious irony. But if I was going to die, I could think of so many worse ways than to fall to her, to give the strength of my blood and body to this lovely, haunting creature, even if her resemblance to Isabella Swan was only skin deep. "But... if you're going to kill me, can I at least know your name?"

"Kill you?" She raised her eyebrows, ghosting a step closer, and then another. "If you die, it won't be my choice." I was responding to her, I could feel it, my human senses succumbing to the elegant snare she presented just by existing. Her scent, it was the same, so delicious that I breathed it in like a dying man. I waited for the thirst to seize me, as it always did, but this body didn't crave her, at least not that way.

"Then what?" She could take me by the hand and lead me over hot coals and I would follow.

"That's for him to decide."

"I see." Even though I didn't.

"My name... It's Isabel. Isabel Cullen." My eyes snapped open at the name, a thousand questions demanding answers all at once. But I had no chance to voice even one. "Forgive me," she said softly. Before I could respond, she darted in close, reaching up to lightly press her lips to mine.

And once again the darkness dragged me down.


	3. Chapter 3: An Inconvenient Truth

PART THREE: An Inconvenient Truth

_"Death is the first dance, eternal..._

_As a child, I thought__  
I could live without pain__  
without sorrow__  
As a man I've found__  
it's all caught up with me__  
I'm asleep yet I'm so afraid__  
__  
Somewhere like a scene__  
from a memory__  
There's a picture__  
worth a thousand words__  
Eluding stares from__  
faces before me__  
It hides away and__  
will never be heard of again__  
__  
__Deceit is the second without end"_

-- Metropolis, Part 1  
by Dream Theater

_Edward, can you hear me? _I could. The voice was distant, but clear. I knew that voice. _Please come back to us. We need you. She needs you. _Alice. My sister was calling me. I struggled, tried to answer, but in the formless void I didn't possess a body, much less a voice. 'I can hear you!' I wanted to shout. 'I'm here!' But the sad irony was that the only person in my family that could hear thoughts was me.

I strained to hear more, willed the voice to speak to me again, but I was drifting. The current of dream and consciousness was bearing me away, and I was at its mercy as much as any piece of flotsam in the sea. As the still silence resumed, I wondered whether it had been real, or if Alice's voice was merely a product of my mind, turning on itself. The thought dragged me further from the surface, and the dreamscape shifted.

A stag ran through a verdant forest. He was massive, magnificent and in the prime of his life, a glorious rack of antlers weighting down his proud head. However, being monarch of his domain didn't spare him from falling into the sights of the hunter. The stag was fleeing, desperately running with a white ring of terror around his dark eye. The predator was little more than a blur of motion, a fraction of his size, but gaining swiftly. The end, when it came, was too fast to see with human eyes.

The stag fell in mid-leap, his slim legs flailing. The hunter was on him, her slender body bearing him down with incredible strength. A chill wind washed over them, whipping back her shining, dark hair like a banner. I watched as she dropped her head to the animal's throat, swift as a striking cobra, the deer's frantic movements faltering as she drank deeply of his blood. It was a staggering sight, primal and terrible... and all I could think was that she had never been more beautiful.

Dark lashes shadowed her pale cheeks as she fed, one hand stroking down the stag's neck gently, as if to soothe him on his way to death. A ribbon of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and I longed to seize her in my arms, to lick clean that sweet droplet and share the taste of the stag from her lips. I knew I wouldn't stop with that, not when hunger for blood and hunger for flesh were so deeply intertwined. I would be the hunter, and she my willing quarry as I pushed her to the mossy earth in the shadow of the stag's body. No longer constrained by the frailties of mortality, she would be mine. Heart and soul I had, yes, but it was her body I would claim as my own. There on the damp and fertile forest floor, with the scent of blood her perfume and only the trees to bear wit--

_My, my, someone's having a good dream _The intrusion of that deeply amused thought woke me as nothing else could have. My eyes flew open, staring up at the stained ceiling with confusion. The thought had been... Rosalie's? I blinked, struggling furiously to get my bearings when the sound of someone discreetly clearing their throat drew my attention. "I see that you're awake," Rosalie's voice said from across the room. "So I don't mind saying that perhaps you should take a moment to... calm yourself."

Calm? What could she poss-- The realization hit me, and mortification was swift and merciless. Her soft laughter merely confirmed that not only was I still human, but that I was enjoying all of the truly horrifying aspects of being human, including turning the color of a beet. I sat up, scrambled for the blanket that was half-covering me, and quickly bundled it into my lap.

_I'd forgotten how much fun human boys could be. _The thought merely added insult to injury.

"I'm so glad I amuse you," I snapped. She was surprised for a moment, then merely curious. I took advantage of the intervening silence to study my surroundings. I'd been lying on an old couch, in the room of a house that made the couch seem new. Across from me was another vampire, she sat in a rocking chair, a pair of men's trousers in her lap that she was repairing with needle and thread. It was only because I knew her well that I could identify her as Rosalie. The beautiful face was the same, but she was dressed quite plainly, her long blonde hair pulled into a simple braid.

"I'm sorry," her thoughts betrayed her on that score. "But you have to admit it's funny." Smiling, she lowered her eyes to her work again, and I could sense that she was even more curious now. "Can I get you anything? You've been out for a while."

Tempting, my throat was dry, my head faintly aching, but I had more important things on my mind. "Where is B- Isabel?" She was the last thing I remembered, and I realized that I needed to see her again.

"Izzy is with Emmett and Jake, they're discussing your situation. I'm Rose, by the way." Rosalie's thoughts warned me that she felt I was too much of a liability. But that telling me her name would do no harm either way. "Rose Cullen. Isabel is my sister in law." The name she gave me was different, and it was hard to piece together all the variables of this mysterious puzzle. But some things never changed, and the fact that Rosalie and Emmett was one of them was oddly comforting.

"So why aren't you with them?"

"Emmett speaks for us both, he'll tell me anything I need to know." Her faith in him was unshakable, I sometimes found that the most likable thing about her. "And someone needed to stay and watch you." She cocked her head to the side. "Speaking of which, I don't think I got your name."

"Edward. Edward Masen." That sounded so odd, like I was giving her the name of a dead man. Perhaps there was truth to that, Edward Masen had died the day that Edward Cullen had been born.

"So, Edward Masen. How long have you known about us?" There was a slight edge to her words, had I not been privy to her thoughts, I'm not sure I would have caught it. She was afraid, afraid that I might be... a spy? For the Volturi. What the hell? What was going on here? I wanted to dig deeper, but if I didn't answer her, she might become even more suspicious.

"Not long." God, what could I tell her? Not even I could quite believe the truth. "Someone I know... was killed."

"I see." She was seemingly engrossed in her sewing, making tiny, perfect stitches as she repaired a tear. But her mind was racing. As was mine. Her eyes flickered towards the doorway, and I sensed her impatience. The others had been gone too long, she was concerned they were fighting. Verbally, not physically, I noted with relief. Their decisions concerned her as well. '_If only Carlisle were here_.' The thought, so clear, was followed by... grief. Carlisle was dead.

I didn't know how to feel. It was clear that nothing in this place I found myself was as I knew it to be. So...how to grieve a father that was not my father? I found it didn't matter. Any variation of the world was a lesser place without his presence. I closed my eyes, wondering if God heard the prayers of tainted souls.

"Still tired?" She seemed honestly worried I might pass out. "Isabel's power can be jarring, Emmett calls it getting a hard reboot."

There was no chance to answer her, the others were back. Rosalie was right, they had been fighting... and the fight wasn't over yet.

"That was a stupid move, Bel, you should have killed him and been done with it. As it is you've probably led them right to us." Oh no, it couldn't be... that voice was too familiar. "What the hell were you thinking!"

"There was no reason to kill him, he'd done nothing wrong." Her voice, a low and angry snarl. "But I couldn't just leave him, either. He knew. He knew what I was."

"That's _exactly_ the reason you should have killed him." Him again. What concerned me was that Emmett was staying quiet, I could sense he was angry, and that anger was ready to boil over.

"I _am_ my father's daughter. I will _not_ kill an innocent." There was a long, tense moment, and then she tried to reason with him. "As long as I'm here, if they do come, they'll never find us. You know that."

"You can't shield us, forever, Isabel! Don't you remember what happened the last time!"

"Get your hands off me! I'm not your property, Jake." There were sounds of a scuffle, and Rosalie tensed, her entire being focused on what we could hear from the other room.

"Back off my sister. I'm not going to tell you twice." Emmett's voice was low, deadly. The few times I'd heard that tone from him, someone died.

"It's okay, Em. It's okay." I could see her, in my mind's eye, standing next to him, like a child with a tornado by the tail. Fortunately this particular tornado seemed predisposed to listen. "Jake, where are you going? Jake!"

The fight came to us, all at once. I heard the sound of footsteps, heard his thoughts before I saw him, and finally had to face a truth I'd known since he'd first spoken... but didn't want to admit to myself. Tall and broad, with skin the color of coffee with cream and black hair loose to his waist, Jacob Black loomed over me, glaring down at me with angry golden eyes. Vampire eyes.

This day just kept getting better.


	4. Chapter 4: Interlude

PART FOUR: Interlude

Every muscle in my body tensed, instinctively responding to the barely-leashed aggression that rolled off of him in waves. I felt no fear, only an intense dislike for this person that transcended the traditional animosity between vampire and werewolf. Deliberately, I got to my feet, forcing him to take a step back unless he _wanted_ a conflict. That would be laughable, I knew that. In my current condition he could snap me in half and use my spine for a toothpick. I found I absolutely didn't care.

Detached, my mind made note of the differences in him. Much to my satisfaction, we were nearly of a height, and I considered the possibility that his werewolf nature had not shown its mangy head before he'd been changed. Interesting. He continued to glare, but my behavior had surprised him. I wasn't behaving the way a good little human should. Silly me, I'd misplaced that memo.

"Can I help you?" Cold, polite, not giving an inch of ground, I made it clear that he was invading my space and I didn't appreciate it. Across the room, I heard Rosalie chuckle, followed by the quiet thunder of Emmett's voice. Oh, Jacob Black didn't like _that_.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you where you stand." His voice shook with anger. I knew I was treading on perilous ground, this pup had never had much for self control. But in an instant, I had the perfect answer, one even he couldn't refute.

My eyes moved to where Isabel stood, still as a statue. Emmett had a restraining hand on her shoulder, and I was certain that was all that kept her from leaping between us. "Because _she_ wouldn't forgive you." I met her golden eyes, held them. "Because her father taught her that life is precious." Her eyes widened. "All life."

A low growl rumbled in Jacob Black's chest, but he followed my gaze to Isabel's pale, still face. "Please Jake," she said softly. His thoughts were chaos, hard to follow, and then all at once the growl cut off in a sound of disgust, and he was gone.

Human weakness made the temptation to sag back onto the couch very great, but I refused to show that weakness. Not in front of three vampires. There was also the fact that, the longer I looked into Isabel's eyes, the stronger I felt. All thoughts of religion and the soulless nature of vampires were far away as I gazed at her. They had no place in light of the conviction I held, sure as I was sure of very few things in life, that while the body may have changed and they called her by another name, that I knew the soul behind those eyes. That it called to mine as much as it ever had.

The effort it took for her to break away was obvious, but she managed it, looking in the direction that Jacob Black had disappeared. "I should go after him..."

Emmett rested his hand on her shoulder again and their eyes met. "No Iz." He shook his head slightly. "Besides, it's your turn to babysit your pet human." He nodded my way, and I sensed that for the moment he was fine with my continued presence. I didn't seem like a threat, and he was confident that, even should I present one, he could keep them safe. That, and the fact that I had stood up to Jacob Black had impressed him. "I need to speak with my wife."

She hesitated, then nodded, moving towards me as Rosalie stood and followed Emmett from the room. Their voices and thoughts receded, and I was left in the perfect quiet of Isabel's company. "I'm sorry," we said simultaneously. I chuckled, and she tilted her head, startled.

"What are you sorry for?" She studied my face as she perched on one arm of the couch. I hesitated, and then sat back down as well, facing her.

"For causing you trouble." I meant that sincerely. "He's right, you know. You probably should have killed me." I raised a hand before she could protest. "But I'm grateful, very grateful, that you didn't."

She closed her eyes, shook her head. "Every day's a choice, a struggle," she said quietly. "Every day, the choices we make, the way we fight, defines who we are. That's not what I was taught to be. That's not the sort of person that I _choose_ to be."

"I understand." She had no idea how perfectly I understood. I knew the struggle she mentioned, I had made those choices. Some right, some wrong.

"I have the oddest feeling that you mean that." Before I could answer, she changed the subject. "I still need to apologize for my part. Jake's the strongest, so we tend to defer to him." She frowned. "But he hasn't been at his best lately, and a lot of that is my fault." I badly wanted to know what she meant by that, and how the information fit with what I'd overheard of their conversation.

"I'm sure he's just concerned for your safety." I looked at our surroundings. Though I'd only seen this one room, I couldn't imagine that the rest of the house was in much better shape. "I get the sense that your family is hiding from something."

"Yes." She took a deep breath, looking down at her hands. "I'm sorry for that, too. By bringing you here, I've made you a part of the whole mess." Even without the benefit of reading her thoughts, I knew she was trying to decide how much to tell me. "There's a price on our heads, and we've just barely been keeping a few steps ahead of them. The...people... who are after us are very persistent. They have resources at their command that make them practically unstoppable." The Volturi, without question.

"What is it that they want from you?" I prompted quietly.

Her eyes, when she looked at me, were grieving. "My father was a great man. He taught us, all of us, a different way. A way to live without killing humans." A sad smile curved her lips. "It's a peaceful way to live, a good way, a way that allows families to exist." She shook her head. "But it's not the Volturi way. They decided my father's teachings were a threat. Three years ago, when the tensions escalated, he went to Italy to negotiate with them. And we never saw him again." The frightening thing was that I was not surprised by this revelation. It could only be a matter of time before the Volturi made a similar move on _my_ family. Assuming I ever found my way home, I vowed never to let Carlisle go to Italy alone.

"That's terrible. I'm so sorry."

She nodded and gave me a slight, pained smile. "It still hurts, you know? My mother was never the same, she disappeared not long after we were sure he was gone. Emmett doesn't want to think so... but in my heart I know she's dead."

God, poor Esme. "So it's just you now."

"Me and my brother Emmett, his wife Rose and Jake." She was answering my questions easily, as though she felt she owed me that much. Useful for me, although I confess I felt a twinge of remorse that I was all but interrogating her. Her family was crumbling, just the four of them now. I wondered if Alice and Jasper had ever made themselves a part of it, but there was no easy way to find out. Perhaps for their sake it was better to have stayed clear, if Alice had seen something of this future in her visions I couldn't blame her.

"So," I frowned, showing her a bit of puzzlement. "How old are you, Isabel?"

"I'm 19." She answered me too quickly. Not the whole truth that.

"So how long have you been 19?" I smiled to myself, indulging the deja vu. She looked away, and again I knew that if her pale skin had allowed it, she would have blushed.

"For a while..." She ducked her head, glanced up at me through a fall of dark hair. The gesture was so much like Bella that it took my breath away. "It's been almost 25 years since I was human," she confessed shyly. "Em and Rose are older, Jake is younger."

"Ah, that makes sense." Unfortunately, every time I had more pieces to this puzzle, the puzzle itself got larger and more complex.

"Oh! I completely forgot, do you need something to eat?" Her expression was all concern as she searched my face. It was adorable, and it was only with an effort that I didn't grin stupidly back at her.

"Not right this second, but sometime soon." I glanced down at myself, realizing that I was as unaccustomed to accounting for this body's needs as she was.

That seemed to satisfy her. "Jake won't be back for a while, so we have time." She frowned, running her fingers through her hair nervously.

"Don't fight with him on my account," I told her softly. "Family is important."

She shook her head, impatient. "The fight was inevitable, your presence is just an excuse."

"A lover's quarrel, then."

"No." The quiet thunder of Emmett's voice carried from the doorway where he leaned. I was embarrassed to admit that I hadn't noticed his presence until he spoke. I watched him a bit warily as he came into the room, moving to slide an arm around Isabel's shoulders, stroking her hair. "Jake wants a wife, what Rose and I have." Isabel leaned her head against his side, eyes closed, content to let him shoulder her burdens for the moment. "All Izzy ever wanted was another brother." He sighed, and I felt his concern for her, the ferocity of his protective nature. I'd never loved my brother more than I did then. "Jake will come around," the words were said more to her than to me. "He's still young, he'll figure it out."

I wondered then, if she heard the threat behind the words. The wolf had stirred the wasp's nest, and I had to admit it would please me to see him get stung.


	5. Chapter 5: Perpetual Motion Machine

PART FIVE: Perpetual Motion Machine

Jacob Black had still not returned by the time the gray light filtering through the window shades dimmed to black. Isabel had insisted on getting me something to eat, and I had to wonder which one of us looked more ridiculous. Me, the supposed human, picking at the offering as though he'd never seen food before, or her, watching me in fascination as though she'd never seen anyone eat. I managed, and felt better for it afterward, although some part of that may well have been Isabel's continued presence. For the hundredth time, I ran through my mind the similarities she shared with Bella, cataloging the differences. Isabel seemed more sure of herself, more comfortable in her skin, and yet at the same time more innocent. I realized that I missed Bella's wry smile, her infuriatingly contrary nature, I even missed the talent she had for getting into trouble. If Isabel shared any of that, I hadn't been around her long enough to see it. Oddly, it didn't make her less... just different.

Lost in those musings, it barely registered when my body began demanding sleep. Isabel appeared at my side as my eyes drifted shut, gently coaxing me to lie down. I looked up into her pale face, shining faintly in a shaft of moonlight from the window. "You're not uncomfortable around me." She blinked down at me, going still. "The blood craving... you don't feel it?"

For a long moment, I wasn't sure she would answer. Then she took a deep breath and shook her head. "It's not that, exactly." She frowned, choosing her words carefully. "I told you a little about my father, that's part of it." Yes, I could understand that, Carlisle seemed to have that effect on others. "The rest... it's strange." She gave me a wary look. "You have to promise not to laugh."

Again, deja vu. I grinned and nodded. "I solemnly swear."

"I'm serious." She narrowed her eyes until I smoothed my expression to her satisfaction. "I have this feeling, when I'm with you." Settling on the floor, she pulled up her knees and hugged her arms around them. "Like I _know_ you. It's like... I'm supposed to be near you. I'm aware of you, I can smell you, you can only imagine how well I can." Her eyes were rueful. "But the idea of hurting you..." She lifted one hand and hesitantly placed it on her chest, above a heart that did not beat. "It hurts _me_." Taking a shaky breath, she looked up at me again. "Last night, I shouldn't have revealed myself to that nomad. But I couldn't let him kill you. Something inside me just wouldn't let it happen."

I longed to tell her the truth then, all of it, to share with her what I knew and see if we could puzzle through it together. I couldn't say what kept me silent, only that I couldn't make myself say the words. "You expected me to laugh after hearing that?"

"I'm not sure what _I_ think about it. I couldn't exactly know what to expect from you." She bit her lip, thinking. "I think Jake knows. That would explain why he was so volatile today." I muffled my snort of disbelief. Jacob Black had been like that every day I'd had the misfortune of knowing him. Still, it truly bothered her that he was so upset.

"Emmett was right. Jake is young." I smiled, trying hard to be reassuring. "I'm sure it'll be fine." Now it was my turn to be careful with my words, fighting back the things I wanted to say in favor of the ones I should say. Finally I reached out to her, and was gratified when she placed her cool hand in mine. "It doesn't bother me, you know," I told her softly. "What you said to me."

"It should." Her voice was little more than a whisper, but she didn't let go of my hand.

There was no way she could know that I was the greater danger. That my answer to her sweet openness was subterfuge. Lies. I didn't belong here, wherever 'here' was, and my heart was with my family, with Bella. And yet... selfish monster that I am, I couldn't let go, either. I couldn't take my eyes from her pale and lovely face. Bella's face, but as it might be rendered by the hand of a master, set for eternity in flawless marble. As I drifted towards sleep, it was with the feeling of her fingers twined through mine, the coolness of her cheek against my skin as she lay her head against the couch beside my face.

_Edward. Edward, can you hear me, son?_ Esme's voice. _I'm here. Bella was exhausted, so Alice put her in bed for a little while. I hope she rests, but she's as stubborn as you are._ My adopted mother, she sounded so worried, so worn. _Just hold on, my sweet boy. Carlisle will be back soon, and he'll put everything to rights. I know it._

Her words were... confusing. I tried to reconcile them with what I knew, but I couldn't put the bits and pieces together to form a proper equation. It took me a long moment to simply shake off the certainty that Carlisle was dead. I struggled with it, trying to make the facts line up properly, but my sleeping mind had no taste for logic. So instead, I strained to listen, desperately trying to hear something more as if the rosetta stone I needed was just out of reach.

All at once, the dreamscape shuddered, the agonized cry of a wolf in pain tearing across it. This was not the same as the strange, half-heard voices that kept troubling me in the dream. This was real, immediate. I clawed my way free of the possessive arms of sleep with desperation, breathing hard as though I'd been running a marathon when I finally forced my eyes open. Isabel was still leaning against the couch, the hand that was not clasped with mine holding a worn, dime-store copy of Wuthering Heights.

She looked up at me, startled. "Edward, what's wrong?"

"Jacob..." I wrenched myself into a sitting position. "The Volturi."

"We haven't heard from Jake." She searched my face, trying to decide whether to be alarmed or not. "But I'm sure he's--"

"No, he's not." I put as much force behind the words as I could muster. "There's something I didn't tell you, Isabel." I slid to the floor and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to meet my eyes. "I can hear thoughts, and please trust me when I say that Jake needs your help. He's alone and they have him cornered. If you don't help him soon, it will be too late."

Eyes wide, she simply stared at me for a long moment. "I-I'll get Emmett and Rose." Then she was abruptly gone, moving with a vampire's supernatural speed.

I sat back on the floor, staring at the doorway where she'd disappeared. I'd done the right thing. Of course I had. So why had it hurt so badly to see that flash of betrayal, of distrust in her eyes, just before she left me?


	6. Chapter 6: A Wicked Betrayal

PART SIX: A Wicked Betrayal

It wasn't hard to find them, not when it was just a matter of following the loudest thoughts. They were arguing, that made it even easier. From what I could gather, Isabel had shared what I'd told her, and now they were debating whether I should come with them. I wound my way through what revealed itself to be a rickety farmhouse, stepping through the open front door onto the porch.

"No, Emmett." Isabel shook her head, vehement.

"He's got a point, Iz." It was so odd, to hear Rosalie standing in as the voice of reason. She had maturity in this reality that I could only wish she might find in mine.

"Given the circumstances, I can't blame him for holding his cards close to the vest." Emmett thought his sister was being irrational. I couldn't disagree, but then I was biased.

"He lied. I don't trust him." The emotion was clear in her voice, I'd hurt her. That I had been justified didn't matter. However, there would be time for regret later.

"It's a little late for that, Isabel." Emmett didn't use her full name very often, it got her attention. "You're the one that brought him to us. And for what it's worth, he seems like a stand-up guy to me." Bless you, Emmett. "If he can give us an advantage, then why the hell would you want to throw that away?"

"He's listening to us right now, you know," Isabel growled through clenched teeth.

"We _are_ talking about him." Rose's voice was mild, amused, as she glanced my way.

"My apologies." I stepped forward, nearing where Rosalie and Emmett sat on the steps, facing Isabel. "I realize I was less than forthcoming, but I couldn't be sure my life wasn't in danger by merely being here." Isabel made a face, and I quirked an eyebrow at her. "I am a human surrounded by vampires."

"You were in no danger," Isabel said stiffly. She could say what she wanted, I knew better than anyone exactly how much danger I was in. Had in fact made the decision to stay with just that in mind.

"Jake is." All three of them turned their eyes to me. "And the longer we discuss this, the harder it becomes to save him."

Emmett made up his mind, rising to his feet. "I'm going after Jake. Edward, if you want a ride, you've got one. Rose?" She was already beside him, slipping her hand into his. "Izzy?" I watched her, with no way of knowing what thoughts were going through her head.

Her eyes rested on me, and I gazed back, willing her to let go of her anger long enough to save the missing member of their family. Hurt warred with her innate desire to forgive, and at last she nodded. "Fine. Let's go."

Vampires didn't arm themselves to go to war, they simply did so. In a matter of moments we were racing through the trees, an experience I found more odd than exhilarating. I remembered too well what it was like to do the running. Being reduced to so much baggage was surreal, and a bit insulting.

They were following Jacob's scent, I could tell from Emmett's thoughts that Jake had done little to conceal himself. It concerned him. He regretted taking a step back, letting Jake make decisions while he concentrated on his marriage to Rose. I wished I could have offered him some comfort, but I had little to give. Rosalie, on the other hand, was a bastion of determined strength of will, a silent shadow in the trees to his right. Once Emmett had made his decision, all of her doubts melted away. She would follow him to the last, with no hesitation and no regrets.

This love of theirs was a beautiful thing, fierce and uncompromising.

That thought drew my eyes to the darkness on Emmett's left where Isabel ran, fleet as a doe. I wished again that I could know her thoughts, I needed to know what she was thinking, I needed to be sure she wouldn't do something unwise.

All at once, I was aware of Jake again. After that first searing cry for help, the connection had faded, the distance too great for me to hold on to his frantic thoughts. But now we were finally in range again, and what I could hear was grim. They were toying with him, I could feel it. Running him between them like cats playing with a mouse. His state of mind was odd. I'd never known Jacob Black to succumb to panic as he had now. He was fearful, unnerved, jumping at shadows and making stupid mistakes. It just didn't make sense.

"Something's wrong," I said quietly into Emmett's ear. "Jake's behavior... it's strange." I felt him slow up a bit, a questioning thought coming in from Rosalie as she followed suit. Emmett was struggling, debating whether to leave Jacob to his fate, whether walking into a Volturi trap was worth the risk to his sister and his wife. I didn't envy him his choice, and I couldn't immediately say what I would decide in his place.

Just ahead was a small clearing drenched in moonlight, the clouds given way enough to allow the moon to show her full face. Isabel stood at the tree line, her back to us. We drew closer, and I could see that she was trembling. Jacob Black's fractured thoughts led in the direction she was facing. Was it fear, then? Was Isabel afraid for him?

Emmett slowed to a walk, and I slid down from his back, trying to move as silently as they did. I listened hard, counting the number of minds that waited in the clearing. Seven, it seemed, including Jacob. Six hunters... it was all I could do not to tell them all to run. Six... and there was something bothering me. Something tugging at the back of my mind, wanting desperately for me to recognize it. But my thoughts were filled with Isabel, racing to figure out how I could get her safely away from this death trap.

A few more steps, and suddenly I knew why Isabel trembled. It wasn't fear that held her, it was fury. A huge silver wolf struggled in the moonlight, anchored to the ground with chains as thick as my arm. Depthless black eyes rolled toward us as he seized one of the chains in teeth like daggers, but his bindings did no more than shift, taunting him with a discordant chime. Near his head stood a cloaked figure, the hood of his robe thrown back to reveal a tumble of honey-blonde curls. As we joined Isabel at the clearing's edge, he turned... and I felt my heart seize in my chest.

Jasper. It was Jasper that stood by Jacob Black's head, toying with his emotions to cloud his mind. Jasper that stood there, watching us coolly with the dull red eyes of a vampire that drank human blood. It was not that which horrified me the most. It was the knowledge that Jasper was not alone.

"Hello Cullens!" Alice's high, sweet voice carried throughout the clearing. "I'm so glad you finally arrived to the party." She simply appeared, wearing a cloak to match Jasper's. The moonlight caressed the pale skin of her face like a lover, lingering in the wine-colored eyes that also matched her mate's.

Hands on her hips, she smiled, and it was a terrible thing to behold. "We've been expecting you."


	7. Chapter 7: The Road to Hell

PART SEVEN: The Road to Hell

Years of watching my sister master her abilities had taught me that life is nothing but a series of choices. An endless number of forks in the eternal road every sentient creature walks. Turn left, and walk in peace. Turn right, and you walk the road to hell. Even paved with good intentions, it was a road that no one would walk willingly. I had no way of knowing when Alice had made her fateful turn or why she had made such a desperate choice. Perhaps, if I knew, I would understand it. Perhaps I could forgive. She had always been the sibling I loved best.

Jasper was less complicated. Alice was his life, where she chose to go, he followed. Were it Bella, and I in Jasper's place, I would do no differently.

None of it mattered now, as two red-eyed vampires closed the trap behind us. I heard the thoughts of one, as he caught my scent, thoughts I could have lived happily without knowing. The temptation enticed him closer and Isabel snarled, suddenly beside me in a movement too fast for my human eyes to follow.

"Diego." Alice's voice was as flat and sharp as the crack of a whip. "Control yourself, you worthless leech." Her eyes had settled on me, and I knew she had expected me along with the others. "That one is not for you. Aro wants him." My stomach turned at the thought of the Volturi elder. I searched Alice's face, looking for some trace of the person I knew, the woman who was my sister in all ways but birth. My eyes confirmed what my mind already knew. My sister didn't exist here, and the Alice that stood before me was sworn to Aro, prepared to do his bidding as long as it kept her and Jasper safe. I was simply a means to an end, tribute for her master to use however he desired.

"None of you can have him." Isabel's low, furious voice startled me. "He's mine." I looked down at her in disbelief, unable to grasp the fact that she was starting the fight.

"Fair enough," Alice agreed readily. "Seeing as how you'll be dead by the time we leave with him."

Emmett hadn't given up yet, I could feel it, he was still determined to get Rose and Isabel safely out. But he couldn't let such a direct threat go unanswered, I knew him too well. A hunting growl roared to life in his chest, vibrating across the clearing. Still chained, Jacob answered it, his own growl fierce and defiant. The fact that he was no longer alone was calming him, allowing him to fight back against Jasper's manipulations. "He can break those chains," Isabel whispered. "Why won't he?"

I closed my eyes, making a choice, my secrets were not more important than their lives. "The blonde male that stands near him. He manipulates emotions." I could feel her eyes on me, but I didn't look at her. "He's preying on Jake, making him feel helpless." Reaching out, I grabbed her wrist, anticipating her next thought. "No. Your power won't work on him."

"How do you--"

I pulled her close, looking down into her eyes from a matter of inches. "Trust me." Emmett's growl rose in pitch, they were advancing. Impulsively, I pressed my cheek against her hair, inhaling the sweet, familiar scent of her. "I'd tell you to run, but I know you too well," I murmured. We'd drawn Alice's attention, there was no more time left.

"I don't like it when the little mice hide, whispering in corners." Alice's voice was annoyed, she was trying to look ahead, to anticipate our moves, but she wasn't having much success. Good.

Suddenly, I had an idea. "The power you used on me," I said quietly in Isabel's ear. "When you knocked me out. It works on anyone?"

She tried to pull back, but I wouldn't let her. "Yes, why?"

I thought it through, it might work, but it would put her so close to Jasper... I took a deep breath and made myself say it. "Use it on the blonde. Once he's out, Jake will be free." Isabel turned, looking first at Jasper, then at Alice. The others were behind us, the way was clear. As soon as she made her decision, the clock would start running.

"Okay."

"Do it now!" I hissed. "Don't hesitate, don't question, just go!" I heard Alice suck in her breath, the vision hitting her mind the second Isabel began to move. I made my own decision at the same moment.

Isabel was no more than a streak of motion, but I couldn't watch her, I had my own part to play. Snatching up a fallen tree branch as thick as my wrists, I headed straight for Alice, roaring like a berserker. At human speed, that short distance seemed miles long. Distantly I was aware of Emmett and Rose turning, attacking the two that had closed in from behind. There were two more, also at the clearing's edge. God, they were going to flank them, and I was too slow, too weak, too _human_ to do anything about it.

In those endless moments, I reflected on the irony of that. If you had asked me if I'd trade in my immortality for the chance to be human again, I would have surely said yes. It was what I wanted, the fate I felt should have been mine to begin with. But right now, faced with the possibility of watching people I loved, the woman I would die for, die horrible deaths... I would trade anything for that curse.

"Jasper!" Alice screamed his name, and I drew back my club, aiming for her head. I knew, even if by some miracle I was able to connect that the blow would do nothing. She would not even be staggered by it. That wasn't the point. And as by instinct she turned to face me instead of moving to help Jasper, I smiled.

Isabel was there. Jasper whirled to face her, but she was too fast. Behind him now, she lightly touched the back of his neck. Like a puppet with his strings cut, he went limp, falling like a stone. I heard a cry of rage and then... I was flying.

The last thing I heard before my body collided with the trunk of a tree was the howl of a wolf on the hunt.


	8. Chapter 8: The Anxious Dead

PART EIGHT: The Anxious Dead

I know I was unconscious for several minutes, and then gradually I began to become aware again, drifting upward like a mote of air rising to the surface of a deep, dark lake. There was pain, and when I breathed I could taste the rust and salt of blood on my tongue. Some part of me recognized that as a bad thing, but I couldn't get beyond that thought, any further action seemed impossible.

_Carlisle!_ Alice's voice, but it didn't match with the angry face and the red eyes I remembered. _Something's wrong! Help him, __**please**__._ I didn't have the heart to remind her that Carlisle was dead.

_Come on, bro. Don't give up on us, yet._ Emmett... _This is no way for anyone to die._

_I've never seen anything like this. __I'm not sure what to do for him, or where to begin._ My father's voice, I don't think I've ever heard him so anxious before. Were the dead capable of anxiety? The anxious dead... perhaps it was an outer layer of hell, although I'd like to think if anyone had earned redemption, it would be him.

Blinding pain seized me, and the voices were abruptly gone. "Don't move," Bella's voice said, but the cool touch on my face was Isabel's. "God, there's blood everywhere." Her voice was tight and soft, I imagined she was trying not to breathe too deeply. "Your pulse is weak, I have to get you out of here." Distantly I heard a furious snarl and an ugly ripping sound followed by a piercing keen.

"Bel!"

"No Jake! Stay over there!" She twisted, perhaps looking back over her shoulder. "Rose, hold him!" I tried to listen, tried to figure out what was happening from their thoughts, but they evaded me. It was as if they'd become too slick with blood and I was unable to hold on. "He's too young to handle this," Isabel murmured softly. "_I_ can barely handle this." I think I was on the ground, but she cradled my body against her, my head resting on her shoulder. As she turned, I just caught the scent of her hair.

Her hand stroked my face again, and then I felt the touch of her lips on my forehead. "Edward, I'm going to pick you up." I felt her gather herself, wrapping her arms around me more tightly. "I don't want to hurt you, but we can't stay here." I know she was gentle, moving with as much care and grace as she could muster, but the pain was excruciating. I cried out, my voice hoarse and unrecognizable, and my tenuous awareness faltered, threatened to fade completely.

_Edward!_

"Edward...stay with me." Isabel sounded fearful, urgent. "Please don't let go." We were traveling swiftly, even with me as her burden she was very fast, sliding through the darkness as though part of it. "You did it, you know. What you told me." Her tone warmed, and I wondered if I was forgiven for my lies. "Once the blonde was down and Jake was free, the lead female took her mate and ran." I didn't answer, I wasn't sure I could. The speed at which we were going increased, her arms tightening just a fraction. "Why did you do that, Edward?" She was upset again. "Why? You had to know what could happen." Her voice was an anguished whisper.

"Time." It was agony just drawing breath to speak. "Give you... time." I coughed, felt a trickle of blood gliding down from the corner of my mouth.

"Hush, we're almost there." Through blurred, half-open eyes, I could see lights in the darkness. I heard a sound faintly like a highway, the squeal of a car braking. Finally, she stopped, shifting her weight uncertainly. "I need to set you down," she murmured after a moment. "They can't see me carry you in." Very carefully, she lowered me to the pavement.

"Is...abel," her name was a bloody rattle on my lips.

"I'm here, I need to tell them to come and get you. I'll be right back." She knelt beside me, pressed her cool lips to my forehead in a lingering kiss. "Wait for me, Edward. _Please_." Then she was gone, leaving me to the darkness.

I swallowed painfully, staring up at where the sky should be. Bella... where was she tonight, I wondered? Was she looking up at a mirror image of that same dark sky? Or was she just a dream, and Isabel the only reality there could be? Did it matter? A tear escaped from my eyes, sliding down my cheek like rain. I'd forgotten the release of tears. Such a simple, human luxury. Of all the things immortality stole from you, it seemed trivial to miss the tears. Yet with them, I knew my answer. It did matter. There was no question of whether or not I could love Isabel. That same, bright soul lived behind her golden eyes. But it was Bella I longed for, Bella I needed so fiercely the need was its own pain. Perhaps death was what would reunite us... maybe it was wrong to fight.

_They_ came then, interrupting my morbid thoughts. With their green scrubs and warm hands, their cold metal and lights so bright they burned through my eyelids. They brought needles and tubes and ceaseless noise. But with them, _she_ returned. Her beautiful, pale face was never quite out of my sight, the white lights and my blurred vision creating a halo around her dark hair. My angel.

"Stay with me," she whispered, using a brief moment of peace to take my hand, holding it to her cold cheek. I was helpless to refuse her.

And as I slipped back toward the darkness, I knew I would stay, if only because the angel commanded me.


	9. Chapter 9: Binary Eclipse

PART NINE: Binary Eclipse

_"Eclipsing binary stars are just of one several types of variable stars. These stars appear as a single point of light to an observer, but based on its brightness variation and spectroscopic observations we can say for certain that the single point of light is actually two stars in close orbit around one another."_

_POV shift- Isabel__  
__  
_I watched him sleep, listening to the steady beep of the monitors. It was reassuring, proof that at least his heart was still beating. The memory of him in my arms, broken and covered in blood, was still too fresh. I never thought when he told me to save Jake that he meant to sacrifice himself. If I'd had even an inkling... Well, I never would have left his side.

Closing my eyes, I folded my arms on the bed, resting my head on them. The memories wouldn't stop. They kept playing over and over again in my head. He was fearless as he swung his makeshift club at the female Volturi, completely committed. Even when she plucked it from his hands he never hesitated. She picked him up and threw him like a rag doll, and the impact of his body against the tree made a sound that would haunt me. I think... if she hadn't fled, I might have killed her then. Certainly I would have tried. The sight of him, limp, pinned to the trunk by a broken branch, had stolen all reason from me. I didn't remember freeing Jake, or killing the Volturi that got in my way. I'm not sure how I got him down. Time didn't start again until he was a dead weight in my arms and I watched his blood pour out over my hands, uncertain whether I would cradle him close or feed.

My father's daughter won that battle, and somehow I managed to keep him alive.

I remembered feeling him slip away from me, tightening my arms around him as if that alone could hold him in his body. I remembered the dark blood on his lips, coming from inside where blood shouldn't flow. I remembered... when he said my name. Just a broken whisper as I laid him down on the sidewalk. God, I don't know how I left him. Taking those few steps inside, calling for help, was the hardest thing I've ever done.

Drawing a shaky breath, I straightened, reached out to lightly touch the bandages that covered his entire torso. His left side had taken most of the impact. Every rib on that side was fractured, and there was a gaping hole where the branch had pierced his lung. He had a hairline skull fracture, and they'd kept him on the ventilator and sedated for the last 24 hours.

'Why did you bring him here?' Emmett asked me earlier. 'You know it would have been simpler to change him.' I did know that. I knew it would have been safer for all of us. Maybe Edward would even have thanked me. Three days of agony in exchange for months of healing?

In my heart, however, I knew he wouldn't see it that way.

I couldn't explain it, how my heart knew these things. Why it moved without me, defying common sense and throwing caution to the wind. There were so many secrets in his eyes, secrets I wasn't sure I ever wanted to know, and still I wanted to trust him. My heart even suspected... that when he looked at me, he saw someone else. I knew. Why, when I knew these things could I not stop myself?

"Jake was right," I whispered. "I should have killed you that first night." Even as I said the words, I couldn't make myself believe them. "I don't want to love you." My hands found his warm human hand, covered in tape and wires, and held onto it like a lifeline. "I don't."

It didn't make sense. If there was anyone I owed my love to, it would be Jake. Passionate, infuriating, loyal and loving, he'd been waiting for me to accept his feelings for years. Jake was like me, suited for our cruel and vicious existence. There was no reason for this human to walk into my life, and in a matter of hours make a shambles of it. No reason for me to look at him, and _know_ him, like the melody of a beautiful, half-forgotten song.

But I did. He had. So I sat by his bed and watched him sleep. Counted the steady beeps from the monitor, and was grateful for every single one.


	10. Chapter 10: Wounds That Never Heal

PART TEN: Wounds That Never Heal

POV Shift: Edward

Narcotic-induced sleep kept me dreamless. In time, the drugs lessened their hold on me, and eventually my conscious mind broke the surface into awareness. I opened my eyes to the muted light of late afternoon. A steady beep kept time with my pulse, and the soreness in my throat made me certain I'd spent some time intubated.

"Hey." I think, for the first time, I knew it was Isabel's voice when I heard it. Eyes gone nearly black watched me anxiously as I turned my head. She was holding my hand, and I realized the coolness felt good, soothing.

I swallowed hard, wanting to speak, but she stopped me with a look. She left my side for no more than a moment, coming back with water. I drank gratefully, letting the moisture ease my tortured throat. "How long?" I whispered hoarsely when she took the cup away.

"Four days." She closed her eyes for a moment, and something in her face told me that she'd been here the entire time.

"The Volturi?"

"Nothing yet." She smiled, but it was a grim expression. "It's just a matter of time, though. We stung them badly."

She was right, the Volturi wouldn't let their actions go unchallenged. The Cullens already had a price on their heads, this would simply increase the intensity with which they were hunted. "Isn't it dangerous for you, to stay here in the open?"

The look on her face almost made me regret asking. "Let's not talk about what is and is not dangerous, shall we?" Her jaw clenched. "I'm a bit more equipped to handle it than you were."

"I was thinking about everyone else in the hospital if it became a battleground." That wasn't completely true, I hadn't thought of those people until _after_ she looked ready to have my skull for a flower pot.

"Oh." Her face fell, and she folded her arms on the side of my bed, leaning on them. "Even then... I wasn't going to leave you." Long lashes dropped low, hiding her eyes from me. "You tried to die on me, you know." She laughed, but it was not a pretty sound. "All that blood... I nearly killed you myself."

"Isabel..."

"Yes?" The wariness in her voice made me think she knew what I was about to ask.

"Why didn't you change me?" I gazed at her until she had no choice but to meet my eyes. Her own were as wary as her voice, perhaps a little defiant

"Would that have been your choice?"

"Not my first choice, no." That was simple truth. But I was practical enough to know that she'd been in a dire situation with few options. If she'd chosen that one as opposed to watching me die, could I blame her? When I'd stood in that clearing, helpless to fight, I would have given anything to have that curse back. To find myself still a living, if gravely wounded, human was oddly unsettling.

"Then you know the answer."

The number of my questions that still lacked an answer were beyond measure. Why was I here? Where _was_ here? Was I a part of this reality permanently, or was there a way back to my own? My eyes went to Isabel's still face. Did I want to go home? I sighed, closing my eyes, because the answer was painful. Yes, I wanted my life back. I wanted _my_ Bella back. Not looking at the beautiful creature at my side made it easier to remember that.

Again, I had the overwhelming desire to tell her everything. To try and explain. I had a desperate hope that maybe she would understand, might even hold the key to the entire puzzle. I looked up at her, searching for the right words to make my confession.

"Edward, what is it?" The care and concern in her voice, I didn't deserve them.

"There's something I need to tell you."

"It can wait." Jacob Black's voice cut me off, sharp and unfriendly, a fact which his hostile thoughts merely confirmed. He'd appeared silently behind Isabel, resting a proprietary hand on her shoulder. I didn't miss the meaning behind the gesture. Neither, apparently, did Isabel. She turned her head, frowning at the offending hand.

"Did you need something, Jake?" Isabel's voice was almost as unfriendly as his had been. The tension between them was pronounced, and it made me wonder what had happened while I was unconscious.

"You need to hunt." There was a ring of command in his tone that made her stiffen.

"I'm fine." I arched an eyebrow. Looking at her eyes, I knew better.

"No you're not. You're starving, I can smell it." He put a hand on the edge of my bed next to her, leaning in close. "It will fuck things up for all of us if you slip, Bel," he'd switched tactics, trying to reason with her. "Let me take you out so you can feed."

"I will _not_ **slip**," she snarled angrily. "I haven't _slipped_ since I was a newborn."

"Bel," he rolled his eyes, "that's not what I meant. If you want a fight, I can do that, too. But not here."

"He's right." I let go of my thoughts of confession. She didn't need that burden right now. "I think I could sleep again anyway."

"I'll stay with him," Rosalie said from the doorway.

And where Rosalie was, Emmett was never far. Isabel knew that, too. She looked at me, torn, and for an instant I could see in her eyes what sort of discomfort she was in. Again, I could remember all too well what that felt like, and I willed her to give in. "We won't go far?" She looked up at Jacob, pleading with him.

"As far as we need to go," he said a bit darkly, but he rubbed her upper arms with his hands. I could feel his concern for her then, his feelings went deep... and I caught myself resisting the urge to snarl.

Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I'll be back soon." Then she turned and was gone, Jacob right behind her.

I glanced at Rosalie as she moved gracefully to my bedside, claiming the chair Isabel had vacated, an gossip magazine in her hands. "He's good for her," she said in a quiet, conversational tone. "Emmett doesn't always think so, but that's an older brother for you." She crossed her legs, turning a page in the magazine. "She's resistant to it, but Jake thinks she'll come around eventually. I tend to agree with him." Another page turned. "Eternity is a long time to be alone." Her doubts about me had returned, she didn't like the way I had put her family in jeopardy. She could see the attachment Isabel had to me... she could see that I had feelings for Isabel in return, but she wasn't sure of the exact nature of those feelings. I wanted to laugh, that wasn't far off from how I felt about it.

"I want what's best for her," I said quietly, and the irony was painful.

"That's good to know." Looking up at me, she smiled. "You need to get some more rest. You still have a lot of healing to do."

"Yeah..." I turned my head toward the window, watching the last of the sunlight fade into twilight.

_He's been so still. If I didn't know better..._ Esme's voice was soft and sad. I wanted to comfort her, to hug her tightly and reassure her.

_I hope you realize I won't forgive you, Edward._ It felt like an age since I'd heard Jasper's voice, and it was hard to separate his words from my memories of four days ago. _If you keep making her sad... I swear, you'll regret it._

_Charlie's beside himself because Bella won't come home. I'm not sure what to tell him._ Alice again. _I'm not sure there's anything I can tell him. I know you're there, Edward. I can feel it. Please find your way back to us._

_Please..._


	11. Chapter 11: Inner Monologue

PART ELEVEN: Inner Monologue

_POV Shift: Isabel__  
_  
"Dammit Jake, stop that." Annoyed, I glared at him over my shoulder.

"What? What am I doing?"

To prove my point, I stopped, and he all but ran me over. "You're hovering."

"Fuck Bel, don't _do_ that!" He rubbed the back of his neck, glaring back at me. I turned to face him, arms crossed.

"How am I supposed to hunt with you on my heels like that?" It was hard enough to concentrate at the moment without him making it worse. All I could think about was Edward lying in that hospital bed, still broken and fragile.

"How am _I_ supposed to hunt when all you want to do is moon over _him_?" He growled, more a wolf growl than a vampire growl. One time he'd asked me how I knew the difference. It's impossible to explain, you just know.

"I'm not mooning over anyone." I sighed. "I'm just concerned."

Jake snorted. "I'm not blind, Isabel. Do you really think I haven't seen the way you look at him?" He curled his lip. "It's enough to make anyone lose their appetite."

"Jake..." I trailed off, suddenly furious with him. "You know, how dare you accuse me of being the one looking for a fight? You didn't bring me out here to hunt, you brought me out here so you could whine about us!" He rocked back on his heels, looking startled. Good. "I'm tired of having this conversation, Jake." I sighed, shaking my head. "I love you. You know I do. But you can't force me to give you what you want."

He shook his head, and his eyes when he looked at me were angry, yes, but there was also an odd sadness to them. "You know... Sometimes Bel, you're so brilliant it takes my breath away. But sometimes, you're too stupid to see your own hypocrisy." Stepping towards me, he lightly grasped my arms, giving me a gentle shake. "Listen to yourself. Are you going to do the same thing to him as you seem to think I'm doing to you?"

I...stared, completely unable to form a response to his words. "I-I'm not doing that," I whispered.

"He doesn't belong here, Bel. I tried to tell you that from the first." His eyes hardened. "You keep trying to shove him into our family and it doesn't work."

"Edward saved your life," I protested, stung.

His jaw clenched, but he nodded. "And I'll thank him for that. But that doesn't make him one of us."

I didn't know what to say, I wasn't sure how I felt, what I was thinking. Did I have those sorts of intentions? What were they? God, could I really be as much the hypocrite as he said? Taking a shaky breath, I turned away, wrapping my arms around myself as I started walking further into the trees. "I need to go," I said faintly.

"Bel--" He started to follow me.

Whirling, I snarled. A vampire's snarl, that animalistic language that we all knew by instinct. "No. Leave me alone." Turning my back on him, I took off running, not caring which direction I went in as long as it took me away from him, away from the hospital, away from everything that hurt. I lowered my head and leaned into the wind, running as fast and hard as my body would take me.

When there was nothing in the world but the wind, the ground beneath my feet, and the endless trees that swallowed me... that was when I heard her voice.

_Isabel. _I faltered, nearly stumbling. _Isabel... can you hear me?_ I skidded to a stop, holding onto the trunk of an oak tree to keep my balance.

"Who's there?" I looked around, expecting to see another person.

_Oh good, you __**can**_ _hear me. _The voice, which I now realized I heard only in my mind, sounded pleased._  
__  
_"Who are you?" I turned, putting my back against the tree, still unsure of whether or not to expect an attack.

_My name is Bella. Bella Swan. _A shiver went through me. 'I thought I knew you,' he'd said, that very first night. The name he'd said then... it had been Bella. _It seems like I've been watching you for so long... it's nice to finally 'meet' you.__  
__  
_"Watching... me?"

_Every time I close my eyes. Every dream... I've been with you._ Bella paused, and when she spoke again, it was with great emotion. _Thank you, Isabel. Thank you so much. I don't know if I can ever properly repay you for what you've done. It's been easier, knowing that you were watching over him.__  
__  
_"I didn't do it to be repaid," I said faintly. "I did it... because I care for him."

_I know. Perhaps better than you could ever imagine. It's a trait we share. One of many.__  
__  
_I slid down the trunk of the tree, curling up at its roots with my arms clasped around my knees. "You're the one he sees when he looks at me," I whispered.  
_  
Maybe. _There was sadness in Bella's voice. _Would it help you to know that you are everything I long to be? That I wouldn't blame Edward if he looked at you and didn't think of me at all?__  
__  
_It didn't help. If anything, I was only more certain that I was right. "How can you long to be me? My world is falling apart."

_I know. I'm so sorry._ She hesitated. _That's why I need your help. I don't want to hurt you, Isabel. But Jake is right. Edward doesn't belong there. His family is here, and they can't understand what's happened._ I closed my eyes, forcing myself to listen even when her words were painful. _He's trapped... and you have to let him go. Part of what's holding him there is you.__  
__  
_"Let him go?" My voice shook, but I swallowed hard, forcing myself to continue. "How... how do I do that?"

_I'm not sure yet. But..._ Bella paused, and for a moment I thought she had gone silent. _I was hoping... that you loved him enough to help me figure that out. _For the first time in many years, I wished that I could cry. There was an ache in me, a hurt that went soul-deep, and I wondered then, if Bella felt it with me. _I do, _she whispered to me, and I had the oddest sensation of being pulled into a gentle hug. _I feel it, too. _And with those words came the relief I'd longed for, as though eyes more human than mine shed the tears that washed my soul clean.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it go. "I'll try my best."

_That's all I can ask for.__  
_  
It would have to be enough... I had nothing else to give.


	12. Chapter 12: Out of the Frying Pan

PART TWELVE: Out of the Frying Pan

_POV Shift: Edward__  
__  
_I awakened slowly to a room that was mostly dark, the world outside the window wrapped in night. The dull pain in my chest told me that I was indeed human, alive, and that the painkillers had worn off. I hurt, but it was reassuring to discover that for the moment it was bearable. Rosalie was thinking idle thoughts by my bedside, engrossed in a new magazine. Apparently she'd forgotten that humans couldn't read in the dark. Still, it concerned me that she was still here. What had happened to Isabel? How long had it been since I'd fallen asleep?

I frowned, gazing out the window as though it held the answer.

Emmett's thoughts reached me before he appeared in the doorway. I struggled to keep my face smooth, closing my eyes to feign sleep.

"Ahem." I cracked my eyes just a fraction, unable to quite wrap my brain around what he was up to. "Nurse Cullen, I'm going to need your help with a procedure." Emmett appeared around the doorway wearing scrubs and a lab coat, a stethoscope slung around his neck. If there was a god in heaven, surely he would take me now.

"Emmett..." Rosalie's voice was disapproving, but I could tell by her thoughts that her interest had been piqued.

Emmett merely grinned, leaning casually against the door frame. "I don't think you understand, Nurse Cullen. This is a life-saving procedure." Oh for heaven's sake, Emmett, wash your brain out with bleach! "I'm gonna die if I don't get some alone time with you." I wondered if they'd notice if I crawled under the bed...

"We shouldn't." That's not what her mind was saying. "Izzy will have a fit if she gets back and finds him alone." With a sidelong glance at me, Rosalie got to her feet and was slinking towards the door. Where were those painkillers? I couldn't take this sort of punishment.

"Oh, we won't go far," Emmett reassured her. "There's a storage closet right down the hall." And I would bet there were others, out of range, on other floors. "Besides, he's out cold."

"Mmm, very resourceful of you, Dr. Cullen." She grabbed both ends of the stethoscope, using it to tug him down for a kiss. I'm sure it would have been touching if they weren't already doing unspeakable things in their thoughts. And yes, I realized I could be reduced to equally unspeakable thoughts in the presence of an amorous Bella... but at least then I didn't have to unwillingly listen in on myself.

I sighed with relief as they left, Emmett's arm wrapped possessively around Rose. They went far enough that I could screen them out with the rest of the background noise, and I stared up at the ceiling, listening to the constant beep of the monitors. Being alone left me nothing but melancholy thoughts for company. I was an expert in those sorts of musings, having spent too many long nights alone. When you're unable to sleep, brooding is often a natural progression.

Did it bother me that Isabel and Jake were still gone? It shouldn't. If they'd found some distraction in one another, it would be good for them both. The fact that I couldn't quite accept that was a sign I'd let myself become too involved. A bitter smile tugged at my lips. I suppose that nearly dying from a tree through my chest should have been the first clue.

A sudden, fierce longing burned through me. My life was out of balance, my center, my anchor, nowhere to be found. I wanted nothing more than to be in Bella's narrow bed in Charlie's house, the air perfumed with her scent, the warmth of her body tingling along every nerve as I watched her sleep. "Where are you, Bella?" I closed my eyes, painting her face behind my eyelids with the obsessive detail of an artist or a madman.

_Hello, human._ Alice's voice dropped into my mind without warning. Eyes narrowed, I looked up, almost expecting to find her at the foot of my bed. She laughed. _No, that would have been a little too dangerous for me, I think._ Her thoughts were clear, but soft, as though she were a floor or two away... but somewhere she could see me. I glanced up, there was a security camera in the corner of the room. _Oh, very good. This may not be as hard as I thought. _My heartrate had increased, I struggled to relax before a nurse was sent to check on me. _I'm so pleased you survived. I thought for certain I'd killed you. What a waste that would have been..._

Lifting my head, I glared straight on at the camera. Whatever game she was playing, I didn't want to be a part of it. _Oh, you're impatient. Alright then, I'll get to the point._ She paused. _I have a proposition for you. My master doesn't tolerate failure, if I return to him empty-handed the consequences could be dire._ I suddenly felt a chill wind of fear from her. Not for herself, but for Jasper. _Obviously I __don't __have the resources to fulfill the kill order on the Cullens. So, to my mind, I have two choices._

I had a bad feeling I wasn't going to like either one. _I can either bring you to my master, a new and potentially formidable member of his guard. Or..._ I sensed her anger, it was faint, but there. _I cut your little female from the herd and cull her. __That could be quite satisfying, considering what she did to my mate.__  
__  
_Isabel... My jaw tightened convulsively. Isabel was fast, but Alice's ability would give her a considerable advantage. If she were able to get her alone... I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath that set my chest on fire. _Ah, I'd hoped you'd decide that way._ She read my decision in her visions, as she so often had in another life. _Well then, come to the roof. I'll be waiting._

I pulled back from her mind, going still for a long moment. Then I grimly began pulling the wires and tubes free from my body. Rosalie and Emmett were still engrossed in one another. If I hurried, they wouldn't find me missing until it was too late.

I tried not to think about what would happen after that. Isabel would be safe. Her family would be intact. That was all that mattered.

I moved carefully to the edge of the bed, ignoring the protests from my battered body. The first time I tried to stand, my head spun and my knees immediately buckled under my weight. I clung to the bed rail, coughing weakly. With an effort, I pulled myself upright, keeping my left arm tucked in against my side to protect my wounds. One step at a time, I made my way to the door.

It was the dead of the night, so the halls were quiet, the nurse's station oddly empty. I didn't question my fortune there, but simply turned in the direction I felt Alice's mind the most strongly. Every few feet, I had to stop and rest, letting the wall support me. I continued that way until I found an elevator. The doors were open. Waiting.

Pushing the button for the roof level, I sagged into the corner, watching with dull eyes as the numbers progressed. The elevator creaked to a halt and the doors swished open, letting in the chill night air. I breathed it into my injured lungs and coughed.

When I finally looked up again, shaken, Alice's slender form materialized from the misty darkness.


	13. Chapter 13: Into the Fire

PART THIRTEEN: Into the Fire

_POV Shift: Isabel_

Small prey made for a meager meal, but I couldn't take the time to search for something larger. Being gone this long was already making me nervous. That I had wasted much of that time wallowing in self-pity, listening to a voice in my head, just made me feel ashamed. At some point, Bella had gone quiet, as though she were trying to give me privacy. Part of me appreciated that, part of me felt strangely lonely left to my own thoughts.

When I neared the edge of the woods, I found a very contrite wolf waiting for me. He lay with his huge head on his paws, watching me with fathomless dark eyes. How many times had we done this? Come back to one another to make peace for hasty, hurtful words? It was hard to stay angry with the wolf, and he knew that. Right now, I had no will to fight it.

Suddenly weary, I let go of my pride and went to him, sliding my arms around his neck. I remembered the first time I'd had this pleasure, curled close to him, my hands lost in his thick, soft fur. Closing my eyes, I hid my face against his neck, breathing in his scent. Emmett said he reeked like a wet dog, but I'd always thought he smelled like a musky Christmas tree. Warm and woodsy. And that was perhaps the strangest enigma of Jake's gift when he wore his wolf form, he was warm. I indulged myself for just a few moments, soaking up the heat of his body. Then I pulled away, pausing by his head just long enough to lean my cheek against his.

"You don't have to come with me," I said quietly. "I know you've been waiting this whole time. Go feed." He growled, expressing his opinion. "Okay, go feed, and then come back." He considered this for a moment, tilting his head. Hunger won out in the end, and I watched him lope off into the darkness.

I continued on my way and slipped silently into the hospital. Technically visitors hours had ended hours ago, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. In a lighter moment, it would have been a fun game, playing hide and seek with the hospital staff. Instead it was mildly annoying. But it wasn't until I stepped out on Edward's floor that I caught her scent. Lips pulled back from my teeth, I dropped into a crouch, lifting my head to test the air. She'd been here recently.

I crept slowly down the hallway toward Edward's room. As I approached the nurse's station, a grim sight came into view. Two nurses lay on the floor behind the desk, their throats torn out. The work was neatly done, with hardly a drop of blood spilled.

_She took her time_, Bella whispered in my mind, voicing my thoughts.

"I can't believe she just left them here. She's Volturi." Although what concerned me more was wondering where my brother and his wife had been when it happened. I left the bodies behind, forcing myself to move cautiously when I wanted to run. As I'd feared, Edward's room was empty. Did she have them all, then? Had she come with reinforcements?

I found droplets of blood on the floor by the bed, Edward's blood.

_Edward..._

"It's alright," I murmured. "I'll find him." But the words were useless, she could feel my fear as strongly as I did. Taking a deep breath, I made myself focus. He'd left me a faint trail, every few feet another drop of blood like a crimson breadcrumb. From the scent trail, he'd been alone, moving under his own power. "That damned idiot," I swore, feeling sick. "What was he thinking?"

_He's Edward_, Bella said quietly. _This is what he does.__  
__  
_"He nearly died." The trail ended at the elevator. I looked up at the status bar. Roof level. Pressing the button did nothing, it didn't even light up, and the elevator stubbornly stayed on the roof. I turned, looking for another option, and my eyes found the stairs.

Three flights up, and I hit a dead-end. The roof was just above us, but the stairs didn't give access to it. "Dammit," I swore softly. I went out into the hallway. This level appeared to be mostly offices, empty at this time of night.

_Hurry Isabel, please.__  
__  
_"I know," I whispered desperately. There had to be a way... At the end of the hallway was a large window. It was one of those sorts of windows that weren't designed to open, just one large pane of glass, but there was a ledge outside. "Alright... we'll do this the hard way."

Backing up a few steps, I charged forward at full speed, throwing up a forearm to shield my face and eyes by instinct. The glass shattered on impact, and I scrambled quickly to save myself from my own momentum. Clinging to the ledge, I reached for the now-empty window-frame, pulling myself upright again.

I looked up, I was going to have a climb ahead of me, but the need to be on that roof was thrumming through me like a live thing. For Edward, for Bella, for myself, I found the first handhold and began to move upward.


	14. Chapter 14: The Angel of Destruction

PART FOURTEEN: The Angel of Destruction

_POV Shift: Edward__  
__  
_"Thank you for coming." Her voice was light and soft, melodic. "Much as I would have enjoyed the alternative, I think your choice has the better outcome." Tilting her head, she smiled. Alice was feeling quite satisfied with herself. From what she saw, in every instance she held the upper hand. Depressing, that. Although it surprised me to realize that she'd come alone, motivated by the desire to protect Jasper from danger and the potential consequences of her actions. In her place I would have done the same, but that didn't make it wise.

"So..." My voice was hoarse, exertion made it even harder for me to breathe. "Where do we go... from here?"

She drifted closer, her nostrils flaring as she scented the air. "I would prefer not to change you here. It would cause delays." She frowned. "But there seems to be some question as to whether you'd survive the trip to Italy in your current condition." Her frown deepened, it displeased her that she'd inadvertently created her own complication. "Humans are so fragile. It's remarkable you live as long as you do."

"The blessing... of mortality," I said wryly. Stepping past me, she gave me a light shove out onto the surface of the roof. I was in no condition to keep my balance under those circumstances, and I went down heavily on my knees. She made a sound of annoyance, and then I heard a great deal of metal screeching against metal as she destroyed the control panel on the elevator.

"Just to make certain no one crashes our little party before Jasper picks us up," she explained as she stepped out of the now-defunct elevator with a smile. So she hadn't excluded her mate completely from her plans, but simply relegated him to the sidelines. Knowing Jasper as I did, I couldn't imagine that he liked that.

"Your errand boy... is coming to fetch us?"

Her expression darkened, and then she was beside me, seizing the front of my shirt. "Don't you _ever _talk about him that way," she warned in a hiss. "He's a better man than you could ever dream of being."

I laughed, it hurt so badly, but sensing her anger increase made it worth it. "Don't you mean... a better monster?"

A growl began in her throat and she hauled me up so that we were on eye-level. I knew it was a vain hope that she might kill me here, but I was just stupid enough to try and provoke her. "Careful," she snarled, "there are many unpleasant things I could do to you that would leave you alive to enjoy them." Then she abruptly went still, cocking her head. "Jasper..." A smile lit up her face, and she dropped me. I collapsed painfully, looking up at her through a haze. "He's almost here," she said with satisfaction.

Somewhere in the distance, I thought I heard the sound of a helicopter.

_POV Shift- Isabel__  
_  
I was clinging to the wall, almost to the top, when I heard it. It was coming in quickly, flying low. I flattened myself against the building, debating how to handle this new complication, when the sound became deafeningly loud. The helicopter appeared beside me, rising steadily so that it could land on the roof. The pilot I recognized from our confrontation in the woods. With that knowledge, I didn't take the time to think, I just gathered myself and leaped.

I barely grabbed onto the landing skid, hauling myself up so I could get a more secure grip. The helicopter shuddered under the unexpected weight and I had no hope that the pilot hadn't noticed, but there was little he could do about it. We were almost level with the top of the building now, and I threw my leg over the skid, bracing myself. Rose would have known exactly how to disable it, I couldn't do more than guess. Picking a likely spot, I ripped at the metal plating, shredding any wires that were exposed. Arcs of electricity bit my fingertips and I hissed in pain, but just kept at it, clawing at every surface within reach.

Apparently I'd hit _something_ vital, the helicopter was foundering when it lurched over the rooftop. Letting myself drop, I kept a tight grip on the landing skid. As soon as my feet had leverage, I grit my teeth and pulled with all my strength. Metal groaned in protest, trying to resist, but I gave another vicious tug and the entire skid peeled away from the belly of the helicopter. I tumbled, trying to make myself small as the helicopter literally rolled, the engines straining as they tried to hold it vertical, but momentum was already against them.

The blades hit the rooftop, crumpling like tinfoil, and the beast went down, flipping end over end before it came to rest against a huge, cylindrical holding tank. On the side of the tank were the words 'Warning: Contents Highly Flammable.' Shit. That had to be where the hospital kept its oxygen reserves. I could already smell gasoline as the copter shuddered to a halt. This was going to get bad very quickly if we didn't get out of here.

_Where's Edward?_ Bella's voice brought me back in focus, and I turned, looking for him. He lay curled on his side near where the elevator shaft jutted up from the surface, very still.

"Oh god, please..." I started towards him, when something slammed into my side, sending me sprawling. She was on top of me in an instant, trying to close her hands around my throat. I growled, snapping my teeth in her face as I rolled violently over, trying to get her under me instead. Sensing my intent, she disengaged and fell back, very light and quick on her feet.

Fortunately I was just as fast, and I pursued her. But somehow she kept evading me, always one step ahead, anticipating my moves. She hit me in blind spots, coming in swiftly and dancing back out of range before I could counter. I switched strategies from using force to getting in close enough to put her down with my power, but she seemed to realize that too, making sure I never landed a solid touch above her shoulders.

Sparks were beginning to dance around the twisted wreckage of the helicopter, and it was gradually emptying its tanks, the pool of gas spreading beneath it like blood. The blonde vampire hadn't emerged yet, and I wondered if he were trapped inside. The female seemed to be wondering, too, she kept casting frantic glances that way, but I made a point of never letting her get close to it. If she concentrated on getting around me, then maybe she'd get sloppy.

There was a small explosion as one of the systems on the helicopter overloaded, and something underneath it began to smoke. "Edward!" I didn't dare look at him, I couldn't take my eyes off my opponent. "If you can move at all, get as far away as you can!"

"He's dead!" The female vampire snarled furiously.

"No he's not!" I didn't believe it. I couldn't. "I'd know if he were dead!"

_He's not. He's not dead, Isabel. Trust me. _I did. I held onto her voice like a lifeline.

Shrieking with fury, the female slammed into me headlong, not stopping until my back collided with the side of the oxygen holding tank. I tried to hold onto her, but she was already moving toward the helicopter wreckage. My eyes desperately sought for Edward, something painful letting go in my chest when I saw him on his feet, staggering towards the foundered elevator.

This had to end. All of it. I had to make sure that he and my family were safe. I had to let him go.

_No Isabel. There has to be a better way!__  
__  
_Closing my hand around the butane lighter in my pocket... I finally knew what I had to do.

_POV Shift- Edward__  
__  
_The journey to the elevator was the most arduous one of my life. Just a matter of a few steps, and it seemed to take me a lifetime. When I reached the support of the wall, I turned, looking for Isabel.

The nightmarish landscape had gone still. Isabel stood against the white tank, seemingly lost in thought. Alice was digging frantically at the wreckage of the helicopter. I could sense that Jasper was alive, but the cockpit was crushed around him, trapping him. Good, it would give us time to escape. We could rejoin the others, find a way out of this mess.

My eyes went back to Isabel. She was looking down at something in her hand, fascinated by it. "Isabel... Let's go..." My voice was faint, but I knew her ears would catch it. She raised her head, her eyes meeting mine. They were shining, beautiful, her long, dark hair drifting around her like silk, dancing on the breeze that blew across the roof. "Come on."

A smile curved her lips. It was heartbreakingly lovely, oddly peaceful, and she shook her head, just once. She raised the lighter and held the trigger down, a bright flame jumping up from it. "Isabel!" Fear seized my heart like a living thing, trying to strangle me. "Isabel, what the hell are you doing?" A short distance away from her, Alice's head snapped up, her face a mask of horror.

Isable's smile went soft, gentle, an angel's smile. "I'm letting you go." The words were clear and melodic, like a song. Then she turned and thrust her fist through the side of the oxygen holding tank.

There was no time to move, no time to breathe. As all at once, the world caught on fire.


	15. Chapter 15: Sacrificial Lamb

PART FIFTEEN: Sacrificial Lamb

_Edward POV_

There was heat, brutal and all-consuming. A surge of light and energy unlike anything I've ever experienced. My body moved of its own accord, sheltering in the farthest corner of the elevator's shell. My mind was still lost in the moment. That perfect moment of destruction when the flame had caressed her like a lover and she welcomed it with her sweet smile. With passionate urgency, it swallowed her down, consuming the silk of her hair until it too was a part of the flames. And still, she had smiled that soft and peaceful smile. An angel given wings of fire before she ascended into heaven.

Until finally, in a heartbeat, she was gone.

Had it only been a moment ago that I'd watched her, whole and lovely, fighting a desperate battle against my one-time sister? Had it only been hours ago that we'd last touched? When her lips had caressed my brow like a blessing. I'd never kissed her, never truly held her, always holding myself back for the memory. Where was that memory now, when the fire rained down and the world ended? What was that precious thing that I'd traded an angel for? I couldn't remember. The fire and the heat were consuming me too, from the inside out.

Mortality dragged me down, the heat and smoke outside the elevator doors making a death trap of my shelter. Weak and without purpose, I welcomed it. Come then, death, if you would leave me with nothing of life worth living. To hell or heaven with me, I didn't care. Darkness was coming, and it could have every unworthy piece of me, the very best that I could hope for now would be sweet oblivion. Perhaps then there would be no more fiery angels to torment me.

"Edward..." Ah, so it was to be hell, then? With little demons come to whisper to me in sweet voices. "Edward, please." A hand cradled the back of my head, lifted it. "Drink Edward." The cup was placed to my lips, and I could smell the bouquet of its contents. Sweet, rich, such a delicious, heady scent and yet so hauntingly familiar. Then my lips were urged apart and I _tasted_ it. Like a man dying of thirst, I swallowed down that sweet elixir, savoring the warm strength of it as it sang down my throat. I drank down a second mouthful, and then a third. With every sip I felt stronger, more myself, as though waking from a long sleep. "That's right," her voice said. "Good."

Her voice. I fought to hold onto that lifeline, suddenly certain that voice was important beyond measure. It had been so long since I'd heard it. Other voices had come and gone, but never once had this voice spoken to me. Until now. The voice, and the _taste_, it drew me in, and I shivered like an addict gone too long without a fix. The need was painful, thirst burning its way through my veins. Like the fire that had eaten Isabel alive.

I drew back, violently shaking my head, gasping for breath. I pushed at the cup, at her wrist, fighting between hunger and nausea. I was drowning, pulled down by memories, by need.

"I'm here." Her voice was full of tears now. "Edward, I'm here. Look at me, Edward. Look at me."

At her command, I wrenched my eyes open, looking up into her face. "Bella..."

"Yeah." Her warm, soft hand stroked my face, her beautiful brown eyes spilling over with tears. "It's me."

For a long moment I was frozen, staring up at her face as though to memorize every line and curve. Then I reached out for her, pulled her down to my chest. I could still smell the blood, but it meant next to nothing compared to her presence. I buried my face in her hair, inhaled her scent, rubbed my cool cheek against her deliciously warm one as though I could could take away a little of that scent for myself. Her name was like a prayer, whispered against her neck, her ear, her soft, sweet lips. "I love you," I whispered fervently, framing her face in my hands.

"I love you, too." Like warm rain, her tears fell on my face. "I'm not sure I can ever tell you how much... Or show you." Some intense sadness shuddered through her, and she closed her eyes, leaning into my caress.

"Isabel..." Her name was painful to say.

"I know," Bella sobbed, more tears spilling over. The how and why of it didn't matter, I was too grateful to be understood, to be able to hold close this precious woman and to know her grief echoed mine, that her tears were shed for us both. To grieve, and to feel no remorse for having shared something worth grieving for.

For seven days I had been lost to them. The night of the attack, the vampire I'd fought had possessed a power like mine, like Alice and Jasper's. The power to lock his victim into illusions created by their own mind, making them docile, easy prey. He had escaped that night and, thinking he might be the key to my lingering state of unconsciousness, my family had hunted him down. But not even his death had released me.

Only Isabel's sacrifice, and Bella's gamble, had been able to do that.

They were grateful to have me back, as grateful as I was to be there. But it was difficult to speak of my experience, even with Bella. I found it hard to accept that what I'd been through, the things I'd seen and the people I'd met, were simply a dream. How could I possibly think a soul as lovely and pure as Isabel was simply a product of my own imagining? There was also the secret that Bella had reluctantly shared, that she and Isabel had communicated, that Bella had shared some of Isabel's experiences and seen through her eyes.

None of it was simple, and I refused to let it be.

The only answer I may ever have came to me on a quiet afternoon in the meadow. Our meadow. The sun was shining, dancing in the facets of my skin and casting rainbows. Some time ago, our idle conversation had drifted to quiet when Bella fell asleep, curled up against my side. I listened to her breathe, to the steady rhythm of her heartbeat, and contemplated the fluffy white clouds adrift in the blue skies above us.

_This is a beautiful place. _She sat down beside me, her skin casting rainbows like mine, her long hair like a silken cloak down her back.

"It is," I murmured.

_I'm glad._ Her voice was warm, soft. _That there are places like this in the world. That you have someone to share them with.__  
__  
_"I should thank you for that."  
_  
_She laughed, a silvery sound, like bells chiming. _Thank me for something else. Not for returning what was never mine to begin with.__  
__  
_"Wasn't it?" My voice was strangely wistful. "Couldn't it have been, if things had been different?"

_Don't say things like that. They're not fair to either of us._ There was no bitterness in her voice, only peace. I found I was deeply thankful for that.

I took a deep breath, and then asked the question I most needed answered. "Was it worth it?"

The beautiful smile curved her lips, and she lifted a graceful hand to tuck dark hair behind her ear. _Yes._

I smiled too, it was impossible not to. "I don't believe you."

_That's your burden to bear. Not mine._ I closed my eyes, and felt her cool lips press a kiss to my forehead. _Be happy. Make her happy. As long as you do those things, it will always be worth it.__  
__  
_"I will try."

She laughed again. _And I will hold you to it._ Then she was silent... and the day felt just a little cooler, the sun a little less bright.

That was how I knew, even before I opened my eyes again, that she was gone. An angel, a spirit, a particularly sweet dream, I had no name for what she had been. But I turned on my side and looked into Bella's sweetly sleeping face, and knew that I would make it my life's work to keep our promise. "Sleep well, angel," I whispered, stroking Bella's face.

Sleep well.

finis

(Thank you everyone for reading! It's been a long, wild ride, and I'm a little sad to see it end. Hope no one is disappointed, but I think I gave Edward & Bella, and even Isabel, a good ending. Thanks again! J)


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